Amateur (Ham) Radio BS and Callsign Thread!

WTF? You can not legally transmit on ch71 from your truck. Regardless of your GROL or endorsements. That license definitely does NOT allow you to use "all frequencies"

 

Best solution is to find a club and/or Elmer. These topics are difficult to teach online or in a classroom. It seems clubs are more misses then hits. But good clubs do exist. When you find the right one, they can be very rewarding.

Also: listen, listen, listen. After you get a reasonable antenna up, spend a considerable amount of time listening. You'll hear sharp people, and some real idiots. It's not difficult to sort them out. Mimic the sharp people only, please.

Is there anything in particular you want to accomplish on HF? Ragchew? Contest? EMCOMM? Digital? All have very different operating techniques.

 

Thanks for the input Bob. I appreciate it. I'd like to develope my skills in HF beyond the point of just being proficient because I see the value in it being a tool above anything else. And like most things, I'm assuming this falls under the category of seat time is the only way to gain that experience.

Contesting and participating in special events strike an interest in me. In regards to finding clubs or an Elmer, eventually that is my goal. Unfortunately, the 3rd shift lifestyle can throw a wrench into normal and planned social events. It's still do-able but with less frequency.

But that's part of why I inquired about material. I'd like to be as prepared as I can, so I'll have specific questions I'll be ready to ask when I have the opportunity.

But to sum it up as far as.what I'm interested in investigating at this point is developing skills, contesting to apply some skills, and if there's a way to aid in any Civic duties eventually, that as well.

One more thing would be the mobile aspect of it too. I would be interested in rag Chew when doing our remote camping which can bring us 100s of miles from the closest populated town.

 

I learn better by doing, then from books. I also tend to throw caution to the wind, and jump right into the deep end. Lol.

I'd start with a used rig and a 40m end fed from LNR PAR. I'd look for an IC-7000. Thats what I started with, and it seems to have been good to me. Throw one end of the end fed wire into a tree as high as possible. Other end with box can be about 5-6ish feet off the ground. Buy a pre-made coax patch cable to connect the antenna to the rig. I'd get at least 25' and leave as much as possible snaked on the ground. Observe your license class frequency restrictions and listen. You'll get a feel for it. It's pretty laid back. And if you tell people you're new, they cut you slack. ymmv

For books, the ARRL books have never let me down. The handbook is a phenomenal reference. The antenna book is excellent as well. I've never read the Operating Manual, but it might be good for you.

 

@demo243

What type of antenna mount do you have on the tailgate, driver side? Looks like an NMO antenna. But I thought those mounts were all for a 3/8-24 hole.

https://twstatic.net/attachments/20180829_163549-jpg.2879200/

 

It might be a BAMF antenna mount..?

 

I have BAMF tailgate mounts on both sides with 3/8ths NMO comectors/mounts on both ... I beleive.. I'll have to dig back into my ebay purchases to confirm... but yes they are both bamf tailgate mounts and nmo

 

Don't discount Youtube for learning. There are a couple big channels with tons of info and then their are thousands of other hams that posts video on how to do everything.

 

Ohio State Parks On The Air, today

 

Hey ham folks! I'm taking my Technician test tomorrow so I'm starting to think about a mobile and where exactly I'm going to mount it. I'm thinking of grabbing something with a detachable face so I can put the main unit under the seat. What options are out there for mounting the face somewhere accessible and not too much in the way? Also, I've got a full Prinsu rack (cabrac and toprac) and am considering mounting the antenna in the middle of of the cabrac somehow, is the rack likely to cause any issues?

 

Passed my Technician exam on Sept 9 2018. Callsign showed up in the database over the weekend. I also plan to go back for my General soon when my schedule permits.

Callsign: KN4OZA
Equipment: Cheap handheld Baofeng UV5RTP
I will purchase a quality mobile radio for the Tacoma in the near future.

 

Congratulations!

 

congratulations on passing.
Start studying now while the info is still fresh in your head. You already know about 40% of what is on the test. I think the General was easier than the technician exam.

 

Cool thanks guys!

 

KC1KDH here.

Passed a few weeks back (tech) and have been researching equipment for my setup. Planning on building a shed next spring and setting up a station in there.

 

Passed my Technician exam the same day as Mike @Toyotacrawler, in fact I was sitting right next to him.

Sept 9th. the day I got my ticket finally after wanting one for many years. Just happened to be up last Saturday morning around 0145 when the email came in. I went ahead and jumped in that evening. Happy to be in the camp with the rest of you fine folks.

73,
KN4OZE


Yes it's crazy when I try to call Mike on the radio. lol

 

W5RIZ

Got the tech ticket a month or so back and got the vanity 3 weeks later. Got a yaesu ftm-400xdr for the truck and have been enjoying tinkering with it all. I need to figure out a good rig for the house one day.

Oh, took the test with @Tynan @TX_Lucian @TX-TACO the same day

 

just wait till you get the HF bug....Making DX contacts....Making antennas.... Hearing DX Station (DF2BO) on the 80m DX window and not being able to TX there.... Now that i can talk there, i havent heard him..

 

So ive been having problems tuning my 80m dipole fed with 100' window line. But today, i removed my wire shelving and put a pool noodle where window line contacted aluminum window frame. Now im am able to tune 20m.
Checked into local SSB net on 80m today, now im off to find some DX.

Enjoy the hobby

CQ DX CQ DX

 

What antenna are you using with that 400xdr? I was in the shop looking at that radio today. The guy planted the seed in my head about having 2 separate antennas instead of one dual band because supposedly it would perform better. Not sure if I want to do that though